You Are The One For Me
by xAkireix
Summary: "Despite the way he acts sometimes, he is no longer the carefree teenager you met over a decade ago. He's twenty-seven years old. Ask him already." COMPLETE


**You Are The One For Me**

By: Akirei

Summary: "Despite the way he acts sometimes, he is no longer the carefree teenager you met over a decade ago. He's twenty-seven years old. Ask him already."

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Pairing: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Genres: romance

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: None

A/N: This story has been sitting on my dash for a long time (obviously before season 3 ended) and I'd almost forgotten about it. But as I'm rather proud of it, I desided to share it after all. Beta'd by the lovely LadyLucifer94, who I love very much.

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"Sometimes it's as if they're still a bunch of careless teenagers."

Derek tore his eyes away from the play fight Stiles and Scott had gotten Isaac and Aiden involved in to look at the Sheriff, who sat down next to him and passed him one of the beers in his hands.

The whole pack was present in the Sheriff's backyard. Not too long ago everyone had been gathered around the huge wooden table Derek had put together himself when their end of the summer barbeque at the Stilinski house had turned into some sort of tradition. The girls and Stiles had taken care of the food while the Sheriff and Ethan managed the grill. Scott and Isaac had arranged a stack of branches they had gathered from the woods behind the house that could serve as a campfire later on. Derek and Aiden had been in charge of setting up the table outside; while Danny wandered between everyone, helping out wherever he was needed.

But now that the food was gone and dusk was setting everyone had scattered. Melissa was clearing the table while Corra was doing dishes inside the house. Ethan was watching the last burning remains of the grill, with Danny wrapped around his back, chin resting on Ethan's shoulder. Lydia and Allison were talking by the campfire, that had been lit when the evening chill began to set in. Stiles, Scott, Isaac and Aiden were goofing around on the other side of the yard. The way Stiles easily held his ground as a human against three werewolves proved how far he had come.

Their pack was still small but Derek had no doubt it would expand given enough time. He knew for a fact that a new addition was already on its way going by the sent Lydia was giving off. The others hadn't picked it up or recognized it for what it was and considering Lydia and Aiden hadn't mentioned it yet Derek kept silent until the couple was ready for the big reveal. Establishing themselves as a pack had taken a lot of trial and error. The first years had been especially difficult, with an unceasing stream of threats challenging the unsettled band of misfits they were back then. Losing Erica and Boyd had been difficult and he still felt a pang in his chest when he thought about them. The way Ethan and Aiden had wormed their way into his pack had angered him at first but in the end they had worked through it all and now he couldn't imagine the pack without the twins. For a long time it had been one creature after another or hunters trying to bring them down, ignoring the truce Chris and Allison had established in Beacon Hills. However, despite not being able to go a day without looking over their shoulder waiting for something else to attack, every new threat had brought them closer together. It had taken Derek a long time to admit that his stubbornness had led to countless unnecessary injuries and hours spend in agony while his body recovered, much longer than it took him to realize that it was almost always Stiles who would pull them all together to join forces.

The longer they worked together, the more Derek came to see Stiles in a new light. He wasn't some annoying hyperactive kid, who got into more trouble than was good for him. Stiles was fiercely loyal and stupidly brave, always ready to jump in the path of danger if it meant protecting the people he loved. He was also incredibly intelligent, his overactive mind never settling when there was research to be done, with an ability to remember both the most important facts and the most useless details. Derek didn't exactly remember when it happened but when he fell, he fell hard for the lanky teenager. That little persistent kid had somehow gotten under the wire despite his best efforts to never let anyone in like that again. It had taken a couple of years before Derek acted on it, though.

They were together for six years now. It felt both like a lifetime and only a day for Derek. They were still butting heads often enough and started fights that had Stiles storming out, slamming the door behind him, but at the same time Derek knew Stiles was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Stiles brought the light in Derek's life, while Derek in return kept Stiles grounded and focused.

Which led him back to the present, sipping a beer with Sheriff Stilinski at his side watching the man they both loved more than anything in the world sitting on Isaac's back after tackling the poor werewolf to the ground.

"I know there's been something on your mind for a while now, Derek." The Sheriff said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them. Derek turned again to the man he had come to consider as a father and saw how the Sheriff's eyes rested on his left hand. Only then did Derek realize he was unconsciously playing with the small square box he had been caring in his pocket for a couple of days now.

"You know I already consider you family, son." He continued once he saw Derek had caught up with what he was referring to. "Despite the way he acts sometimes, he is no longer the carefree teenager you met over a decade ago. He's twenty-seven years old. Ask him already."

Derek opened the blue box in his hand, staring down at the simple silver band, the triskele engraved in it as a symbol for their past, present and – hopefully - future together. Sitting up straighter, he snapped the box shut and finally stood up from his chair. There was a man he wanted to marry and he was done delaying it.

**The End.**


End file.
